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This article explores the role of children and young people as change agents in promoting ethical and responsible tourism at the local level. Drawing on a youth participatory research project that used social theatre as a medium of inquiry and advocacy, the study explores how young participants navigated roles as researchers, educators, and activists. Informed by Freirean pedagogy and childist principles, the research contributes to broader discussions on social justice within the tourism industry, advocating for more inclusive and equitable tourism practices for young people. Rather than presenting empowerment as linear or guaranteed, the study traces how agency was negotiated through creative expression, youth-led inquiry, and public dialogue. The findings contribute to advancing tourism scholarship by foregrounding youth participation as a vital yet underexplored dimension of responsible and ethical tourism. It introduces social theatre as an innovative methodological tool for emancipatory praxis in tourism research. Implications for policy and practice include the need for child-informed governance structures, sustained participatory mechanisms, and reflexive engagement with young people as co-creators of knowledge and change.
Canosa et al. (Sat,) studied this question.